How Early Do You Buy Airfare?

[artnbarb]

As usual, I'm chomping at the bit to buy our airfare for next April. I wasn't really thinking about it, but then realized that if I wanted to use miles for our February trip to Mexico I needed to book ASAP......then I got to thinking about our London/Paris trip in April. Since all our miles are gone, I'll be paying for these tix, and I never seem to guess right when buying them. I found SDF-LHR and CDG-SDF, Premium economy, good seat selection, ample connection time and reasonable overall travel time. The cost - $1950 each, round trip. Am I the only one who thinks the days of waiting for the price to go down are long gone? How early do you buy?

 

[Ian Sutton]

Anywhere between 3m and 7m away (from memory).

Our trips were typically shorter though, and it was often a case of getting a rough set of options, checking the prices didn't influence that decision, then finding arrival / departure accommodation and booking them all on the same day, as we didn't like the risk of prices going up on either in the meantime.

For longer trips, we'd check prices relatively early, and then check prices + or - a month of the rough date to find a good cheap window... all of this a good few months before the trip.

 

[JMichael]

Depends. If using miles, as soon as tix are available. If using cash, six months on average.

 

[ncp]

You used to be able to get a refund if the price dropped after purchasing but im assuming that doesn’t happen any more.

 

[Andrew]

Post-COVID, on most airlines and with the exception of Basic Economy fares, if the fare goes down you can have the difference as a credit towards future travel, and there's no longer a Change Fee line item; you'd need to see if the credit is valid long enough to be useful to you.

How Much Does It Cost to Change or Cancel a Flight in 2024? | LendingTree

The cost to change or cancel a flight depends upon the specific details of an airline’s policy, which vary by airline.

www.lendingtree.com

 

[artnbarb]

T

Post-COVID, on most airlines and with the exception of Basic Economy fares, if the fare goes down you can have the difference as a credit towards future travel, and there's no longer a Change Fee line item; you'd need to see if the credit is valid long enough to be useful to you.

How Much Does It Cost to Change or Cancel a Flight in 2024? | LendingTree

The cost to change or cancel a flight depends upon the specific details of an airline’s policy, which vary by airline.

www.lendingtree.com

Thanks! Very helpful information.

 

[Shyguy]

3 to 6 months.

 

[BEERMAN]

When we think we have a travel window we start checking daily, this upcoming September trip we started looking in late May. In mid June we found flights at $570 Dulles to Malpensa….jumped on that! We find that late Tuesday night is a great time to search!

 

[Lizth]

I set a search in google flights and receive updates when fares are lower than usual. Also, if you are enrolled in ITA’s loyalty program, they periodically send out notices of discounted fares.

 

[Lizth]

I set a search in google flights and receive updates when fares are lower than usual. Also, if you are enrolled in ITA’s loyalty program, they periodically send out notices of discounted fares.

(Other airlines often also send out similar notices)